Masque
by Cloudy Skies 77
Summary: Plagued by nightmares of her past. Kaoru puts on a mask for the rest of the world. Blocking out the pain of losing the person she holds most dear. In the last few weeks with him, will she find an old love or new one to help her end the pain? KKS
1. Chapter 1

_**Masque**_

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Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. And if I did I wouldn't be sitting here right now. 

AN: This is a short story I wanted to write. It may be OOC but I'm trying my best to keep everyone in character. I hope you enjoy this. I may set the ending up so that I can write a sequel for it. This is actually my first serious story. I have written another one but that was with a friend for fun. So I would appreciate constructive criticism on how to improve this one.

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"_**Misao why doesn't Kenshin ever ask me but always you?"  
"I don't know here I'll go ask him."  
"Wait Misao…" Misao made her way over to the table where Kenshin was working. They talked for a few seconds before she came back.  
"He doesn't know."**_ __

"I think you should go for it Kenshin. You'll be great!"  
"Thanks Kaoru"

"**_Why why Kami are you doing this to me! Why not my class!"_**

"_**Hi Kaoru it's been a while."  
"Yeah… it has been…"**_

"_**I have som**__**e bad news… I'm moving…  
**_**_"Oh…"_**

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Kaoru's body lurched forward beads of sweat were streaming down her forehead. She took deep steadily breaths trying to calm herself down. It was that same nightmare again. The one where she remembered every little moment they had spent together. And then Kenshin's last words had hit her… **_"I have some bad news… I'm moving…"_** _It's not fair. It's not fair. It's been two and half months already since he told me. I still haven't accepted that fact yet. I'm still not over him and I don't want to lose him._ Tears began to stream down her face and she let out soft sobs wishing this was just another nightmare. Wishing that her time with him wasn't nearly over.

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_Looking back on all of this, its been one of the most amazing years of my life. And I guess one of the most painful as well.

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_

Kaoru looked up from her desk, light streaming through the open window beside her filling the room with light. She rubbed her eyes carefully, letting them adjust to the light and trying to remove any of the tiredness that remained within them. She looked towards the red hair youth sitting next to her talking to a very beautiful girl.

"Hi Kaoru!" she called as she saw Kaoru stir.

"Yeah hi, Tomoe." Kaoru replied putting a fake smile over her face.

"Oh you're awake."

"Thank you for being so concerned, Kenshin." Kaoru shot back that the man.

"See you around Tomoe." She said standing up. She made her way out of the room as fast as she could missing both of their replies. She didn't care though. Those two made her sick to her stomach.

I liked both of them better when they didn't know each other. She continued to huff down the hall. Why do they insist on hanging out with me. Kami is this a sick joke of yours? Whatever I'm way too pissed to think about any of this. Kaoru was so deeply preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't even notice the handsome boy in front of her.

"Oh I'm sorry about that!" Kaoru said quickly bowing quickly in apology since she had bumped into him.

He studied her face before replying. His reply was slow and hesitating, "Kaoru, Right? Kaoru Kamiya?"

"Uh yes, that's me…"

"Soujiro Seta," he said holding out his hand, "I believe I'm in your biology class along with Misao."

She took his hand grinning. "Sorry about that I didn't recognize you. So you're the guy Misao is always talking to during class."

"I guess I am." He laughed.

"Well I'm sorry about the trouble." Kaoru said, "But I have to go now."

"Perhaps I could join you?"

Kaoru laughed lightly at his words, "Where I'm going there's only enough room for one. But I think I can make an exception."

"Thank you very much."

"Ah no problem." She took up her fast brisk pace again walking down the halls.

Her thoughts were again broken by the smiling boy next to her. He had a beautiful smile and deep sparkling blue eyes. He seemed to be good friends with Misao and nice enough. Kaoru thought of this as an opportunity to get her mind off things and get to know the boy. Who knows maybe they would become best friends? "I'm sorry Soujiro, could you say that again I didn't quite catch that?"

"I was thanking you for letting me come along with you."

"Oh its no problem anytime. It will be good to have some company for once."

"I would think a pretty girl like yourself would have lots of friends to join you."

"Aww. Thanks Soujiro, but recently most of my friends and I haven't gotten to see each other much that's all." said Kaoru. She quickly changed the subject to something more pleasant. "So Soujiro what are you doing out of class anyways?"

He laughed lightly grinning widely, "Are you accusing me of skipping class?"

Kaoru laughed too grinning back, "I'm not that mean. Nah I was wondering if you had a free period or your teacher was just out or something like that."

"Well I have a free every other day. And this is one of my days off."

"Really this is so great!" Kaoru cried happily clapping her hands together in surprise.

"What is exactly is so great?"

"Oh sorry about that. Well you see," Kaoru started to explain, "I have this period free everyday. So I was thinking since we don't talk to each other in class maybe we could do it during our free periods together."

"That would be great. Where would I meet you though?" he asked.

Kaoru started to laugh again. " I guess we could meet here and it can be our spot! This was where I was going." She pushed open a glass door that led to a little outlet of the garden. It was secluded and from the door you wouldn't even know it was there. It was brightly lit with different types of flowers all around it. Against the wall of the school stood a small wrought iron bench.

"Its so beautiful here." said Soujiro in amazement starring around the small garden. "How did you find this place?"

"Found it when I was exploring the school bored. I was sleepy and wanted a breath of fresh air so I stepped outside and found myself here. Luckily the door's kind of secluded so I don't think many people no of this place. I come here when I want to think."

"Which now explains your dazed sort of state."

"Yeah I guess it does. Doesn't it?"

"Is there anything can do to help you?"

"Nah… Thanks for the offer. I think I'm just going to rest here for a little while."

"Won't you miss class its starting in a few minutes." he inquired.

"Nope," she said shaking her head making her ponytail fly back and forth, "My teacher's sick so I have another free period."

"Wow lucky. Well I got to go. My class is about to start." he held out of his hand to her. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Kaoru."

"Yeah same here. Maybe we can get to know each other next time?"

"That sounds nice_."_

He walked towards the door waving happily to her. She grinned back, after he was gone she closed her eyes slightly feeling a lot better than she had the moments before. _He was a really nice guy. It will be fun getting to know him._ With those final thoughts and her heart feeling at ease she drifted to sleep.

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AN: Well please R&R! I would really like to hear some opinion positve or negative about this story. I'm not sure whether the story will end up Sou/Kao or Ken/Kao I guess it depends on your feedback to me! -

-later


	2. Chapter 2

_**Masque**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. And if I did I wouldn't be sitting here right now.

AN: YAY I GOT REVIEWS! Sorry really excited about that. I thought no one was going to review. So yeah I admit that my writing has a long ways to go before I can write a fic where the characters are not OOC and the story captures readers attention. Hopefully this chapter is better than the last.

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"Kenshin! Kenshin, hey wait up will ya?" The red hair figure didn't stop moving he kept waking forward his hands thrust deep into his pockets. Kaoru picked up her pace in order to catch up with him. Her feet made a slapping noise as they hit the pavement one after another. "Kenshin!" she called again trying to grab his attention. Karou began to slow down, her face faltering. "Kenshin," she began slowly her voice shaking, "Why… Why are you doing this?" He finally turned and faced her. His face was contorted in angry and annoyance and his eyes were a deep amber color that seemed to burn with fire. "Why? Why? You silly little annoying girl! I didn't stop because I have never cared about you! Never have and never will! You've always have gotten on my nerves. We were never friends in the first place!" Kaoru fell to her knees her head in her hands. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She broke down and cried. Kenshin stood there laughing at her. She couldn't get that laugh out of her head. "Stop it!" she screamed at him.

Her head sprang forward and her breathing was shallow and rapid. Kaoru took giant gulps on the air gratefully.

"Kaoru! Kaoru, are you alright?" said a shaken voice from beside her. She turned her head slightly to face the figure. Soujiro's usually cheery face starred up at her from the ground. His face etched with worry that was unbecoming of the cheerful boy. He didn't have his trademark smile on either. Kaoru starred at him for a few moments before speaking. "I'm fine Soujiro. I just had another nightmare, that's all." Soujiro got up from the ground and sat next to her on the bench. His face was still full of concern for his friend. Kaoru didn't notice, she was to preoccupied with Kenshin's words. They had seemed so real, like he was standing there in front of her and saying them. They were more vivid than a dream. Tears began to stream down her face remembering his words. Her body was jerked forward into a warm embrace. She could feel his warm arms around her pulling her into a strong protective embrace. Her head was spinning from the rush of emotions.

"Don't worry you're going to be fine now. I'll always protect you." Soujiro whispered in her ear as he held her. Kaoru felt safe in his arms. She still felt like a wreck from the dream but sitting there with Soujiro's arms around her she felt the best she had in weeks. The two really had become close during the short times they had spent together. Next to Kenshin, Soujiro was her closest friend. When she was around him she felt better and happy. Kaoru mused it was because of his contagious smile. He had even managed to get their bio teacher Mr. Saitoh to smile once, and that was quite a feat.

Soujiro withdrew his arms from around her, "You alright now?" he asked her his voice full with concern.

Kaoru nodded, "Yeah, I guess so…"

"Anything you want to talk about?" he probed gently. Kaoru shook her head vehemently. Soujiro laughed lightly, "I'm going to take that as a no then." He smiled brightly at her.

_His smile must be contagious_ thought Kaoru. She could feel the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.

"See there you go!" he cried happily. "A smile suits you far better than a frown." He took his hand and wiped away the last of her tears. He took her hand and pulled her gently off the bench, "I'll walk you to class come on."

"Alright," she said as she accepted his hand, "Thank you, Soujiro."

They left their little world walking hand in hand. As they walked towards their classes, they caught the attention of a certain redhead that was going back to class after delivering something for his teacher. "Kaoru…" he gasped starring after the pair.

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AN: Ok folks, so this chapter didn't turn out the way I originally planned at all lol… Ya so there definitely wasn't much Ken/Kao scenes in this… Sorry about that the next chapter will defiantly be more focused on their relationship and it will probably be a lot longer since I'm planning on putting in some flashback scenes. The point of this chapter was to show Karou's changing feeling and possibly to plant the seeds of jealousy in Kenshin's head… but remember mum's the word on that lol. Well hopefully you all like this chapter!  
Later

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Review Shoutouts:  
gabyhyatt: Its definitely a possibility. But I doubt there's a way I could allow Kaoru to be with both of them is there? But the story this was based off of doesn't end too happy so… hmmm who knows! I'm a sap for happy endings. (And I do like Ken/Kao better then Kao/Sou) Thanks for the review!

Kong Kien Hui: I haven't quite reached Soujiro's deep dark past but I will eventually… And there's definitely room for love! Thanks for the encouragement and the review!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Masque  
**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. And if I did I wouldn't be sitting here right now.

**AN:** Man I was hoping to get this up in a week. But unfortunately I have 5 tests in summer school this week and that's one everyday and some double and I'm also going to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 at midnight so I'm really siked! So it might take me a while to update. This is a long chapter and hopefully there's some progress made in the story as well. And hopefully it was a bit better b/c well I'm kinda sad only 30 people read the 2nd chapter… so it kinda leads me to believe that it's a pretty bad story and poorly written.

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She felt very alone and vulnerable as she lay on the bed. Night was creeping up on her again leaving her to her nightmares. She frowned looking at the darkening sky. _It's like I'm drowning in my own troubles and sorrows. How many night have I spent up like this, crying? _She thought miserably. _Probably one too many… _she sighed rolling onto her back and closing her eyes. " How did we get this way…? We haven't talked for over two weeks now. Is this how everything will fall apart?" Tears trickled down her face settling in the covers of the bed staining them. "Was it like this in the beginning?" she asked her ceiling hoping she would get an answer.

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_**Three Years Ago.**  
_  
"Hello and welcome to your literature class. The tables you are currently sitting at are your seats for the rest of the year and the people at them will be your literature group for the whole year. We will be studying…" said the teacher droning on and on, losing Kaoru's limited interest right away. She leaned her head to the side slightly and focused her attention on the red hair boy beside her. His violet eyes shone brightly and his face was so serious listening to the teacher that it made Kaoru want to laugh. He gave off a distinct air of kindness despite his quiet demeanor. She could feel herself being drawn to him.

* * *

Kaoru laughed slightly remembering their first meeting all those years ago, " Oh yeah I remember now, literature class… We became friends surprisely fast because we had a lot of the same tastes in books thought our ideas on them never quite matched. It helped that we both love kendo. It helped a lot… I still remember him becoming kendo captain that was awesome. We really were inseparable, so when did we begin to drift apart?" she thought for a while sorting through all the memories that she had. " It had to be the summer before high school began and I went to stay in Azu with Megumi. We didn't really talk much then and he met Tomoe. Though setting him up with her did bring us closer in a way though my confession to him helped push our friendship farther apart. We can only ever be friends… And then he told us all. The news. He was moving to Kyoto and not coming back. I was the only one who cried. Hell I'm still the only one who cries about it… Just like right now… Kenshin still doesn't get it that I'm upset that everything he told me was a lie and he knew he was leaving at the middle of the year. And he chose her over me and hasn't given me the time of day for nearly a month now. Stupid Kenshin!" she took her pillow chucking it at the picture of the two of them laughing together that was up on the wall. "I thought I meant something to you… I thought our friendship was something… I think I now know how we got here." She stood up shaking up limbs out and dried her eyes off. "Time to get my butt in ass in gear and actually start my essay for English."

The piles of literature notes on the desk were driving Kaoru crazy. She wasn't in the mood to write an essay on friendship considering her state. The words of the assignment taunted her over and over again. 'Write an essay on your views of how friendships are lost and made. Compare this to the friendship between Phinny and Gene and of Gene and Brinker in A Separate Peace. Kaoru's temper was amounting more and more as she stared at the paper. "Who the hell made this assignment! Its awful! AGH! she yelled scattering the papers off of her desk. "Oh shit…" she swore looking down at the giant pile of papers on the floor. "This is Soujiro's and Kenshin's fault for making me feel this way!" She huffed as she picked up the papers. After she was done picking them up and made her way to her bed and took up her usual spot. "I like Soujiro and he makes me feel special. Then there's Kenshin… We've known each other for forever but he has Tomoe though. Its not like I can compete with that," Kaoru sighed deeply turning on her side to face the window, "I just don't know anymore. I just don't know." She sank deep into her thoughts of the two men in her life until a ringing noise came to her ears. She got up and picked up the telephone looking down at the caller id, Himura, Kenshin. Her heart began to beat faster as she hit the on button. "Hello." she said into the phone knowing she would hear his voice in a moment.

"Hey Kaoru!" he said happy to hear her voice. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing much," she replied. _This is a bit strange… Kenshin never normally calls to talk with me. Something has to be up or he needs something from me, _she thought. "Hey Kenshin?"

"Hmm…?"

"Is there something you need?"

"No, why are you asking?" his surprise clear.

"I don't know…" Kaoru hesitated before continuing, "It's just… It's just that you usually never call me to talk on the phone so I guess it just feel weird, you know?

He laughed slightly, "What's so wrong about wanting to talk to your friend?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." she stuttered out of embarrassment.

"Did I catch you at a bad time? Is that it?" he asked worried that he had caught her at a bad time.

"Oh no that's not it. I'm just kind of out of it today."

"Ok good! Since we haven't talked in ages and ages I thought it would be a good time to catch up." he said happily. Kenshin hadn't realized with the weeks counting down until the big day that he was neglecting Kaoru. After all she was his best friend and it was thanks to her that Tomoe and he had hooked up in the first place. He realized how much she meant to him after seeing her with Soujiro. It brought up a lot of new emotions towards Kaoru that he hadn't felt before.

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Flashback  
_Kaoru and Soujiro together… No, it couldn't be? Could it…? But that was definitely Kaoru and she was holding hands with another guy._ Kenshin's thoughts were racing a mile a minute. He could just stand there in shock starring after the two. Somewhere in his mind he had always thought that Kaoru would always be his in a way. _During Jr. High I discovered that my suspicions about Kaoru had been right she did like me. And well this year she actually confessed but I was stupid and I pushed her away. She was just my friend and that's all she ever would be. We both knew it. But Tomoe was different… she caught my attention right away and I was drawn to her. Yet right now… I just don't know anymore… I can feel my envy and malice growing towards Soujiro, but why? I shouldn't feel that way towards him. He's my friend "But he's also with her." said a voice in his head. What's wrong with me? I have Tomoe! But then what is Kaoru to me…

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_

"So what's been new with you?" he asked shaking his head to rid the image of Kaoru and Soujiro from his mind.

"Well…" Kaoru began but she was cut off by a beeping in her ear. He looked down at the phone the LCD screen read Takani, Megumi. " Uh… Kenshin can I put you on hold for a couple of minutes. There's another call one the other line."

"Yeah, sure you can." he said, feeling the image of Soujiro rising up again in his mind. _I hope it isn't him._

"Megumi! Perfect timing!."

"Of course would you except anything else from me? So what's up darling?" Kaoru launched into the two minute summary of the past couple of weeks. "So what do you think, Megumi?" asked Kaoru.

"All I can say is whoa… My little Kaoru is sure growing up fast though!" she laughed before continuing, "Hmm… Well I say his behavior is probably just the stress of the move and you're reading into things too much. Don't worry about it and enjoy the little time you both have left together. I'll call later when you lover boy isn't on the other line. See you!"

"Hey sorry about that," said Kaoru after she had switched lines again, "Megumi was calling and I told her I would call her back later."

"Because I'm so important!" laughed Kenshin.

"Yes because you are." she said a smile growing across her face.

"So where were we? Oh yes! So how have you been lately?"

"Kind of stressed with all the work the teachers are piling on us. There's also the massive amounts of training for the upcoming kendo tournament. But its too bad you miss the majority of the kendo season."

" I know! I was really looking forward to that tournament too."

"So how have you been lately? The move going ok and everything?"

" Yeah I guess so but I guess it still hasn't fully sunk in that it is happening. Because I'm not getting nostalgic at all yet."

"Oh sure you haven't…" said Kaoru sarcastically, " Is that why you've abandoned your friends to spend ever waking moment with Tomoe?" she added with a slight resentment.

"Kaoru you know that's not true! And if I'm right, you're jealous!"

"No I'm not!" lied Kaoru knowing how true it was.

"Uh huh sure…"

Kaoru felt like the two weeks until Kenshin moved was too short of a time. Her voice began to waver slightly and she could feel her eyes watering. "I don't want you to leave, Kenshin!" she cried letting the tears she was fighting back fall.

"Kaoru, I…" Kenshin began.

" Promise me. Promise me something will you?"

"I'll try to."

"Promise… that we will always be friends?"

"Kaoru…" Kenshin said, "Oh Kami, you know I can't do that. Its like I have a new life there. Its waiting just for me to come. I can't promise you that. Especially if I creak that promise. You'd be hurt and I can't do that to you. I'm sorry but that's one thing I can't promise."

"Don't say that!" she said her hysteria growing. "Don't ever ever say that again…" she sobbed into the phone.

"I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be… Its not your fault that you have to move. I'm sorry Kenshin… I'm so sorry for being selfish like this…" There was a click and the line was dead.

"Kaoru? Kaoru are you there? Kaoru!" Kenshin yelled his self-control failing. He let the phone slip from his hands and it fell to the floor with a loud crash. The battery flying across the floor.

Kaoru lay on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest. She lay there crying the tears streaming down her face and showing no signs of stopping. She kept hearing Kenshin's words in her head 'I can't…' she continued crying until she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Kenshin looked up the moon shining in the pitch black of the middle of the night. A cool breeze wafted through his room through the open window he was standing before. "I'm so sorry…" he said to the night. A lone tear trickled down his face and fell onto the windowsill.

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**AN:** Awwww… Really sad chapter! Poor Kaoru! Poor Kenshin! So things are moving along and this chapter was mainly focused on Kenshin and Kaoru and it gives you some insight into their relationship and how they became friends. So hopefully you liked it! And this chapter is better than the last. So please R&R and tell me your feed back  
-later

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**Review Shoutouts:**

Anonymous but very interested: Hopefully this helps explain their relationship a bit better. I know in the first chapter I just kinda threw it out without a real explanation but in the 2nd chapter that was supposed to be a nightmare but maybe I didn't make that too clear. Oh thanks for noticing the small spelling error some how I missed that in my proof reading on it I guess its b/c I was updating at night again just like now… Hopefully this is soon enough for an update. I'm thinking there might be two more chapters so I get some room to play with different ideas. Thank you so much for the review! It was very encouraging and it helped me at ton!

Sunshine of my life: Thanks for the nice review. I know! Things are getting more interesting. Stick around for the next chapter when things really heat up.


	4. Chapter 4

Masque 4

By: Sky

AN: Ok here is chapter 4 sorry for the delay. I wasn't expecting a lighting storm to knock out my internet service or that my neighbors would turn off their wireless connection so I couldn't hack into it. So I'm currently trying to balance all of my projects right now which is quite a feat since I still have a ton of summer hw to do… Oh well thank you all for the support and here is the long awaited chapter 4!

Kaoru woke up with her head pounding. "Ugh…" she groaned. "It feels like I have a hangover…" She rolled off her bed onto the floor with a loud crash. "Damn it that hurt." Sleepily she made her to the shower welcoming the warm soothing feeling that gave her. Letting the water wash over her slowly made her headache disappear but not the pain she still felt from her conversation the night before. Closing her eyes she sighed deeply. "Snap out of it Kaoru! You're stronger than this. There is no reason for you to be down." She said trying to encourage herself, but the little voice in the back of her head kept nagging her. 'Stop lying to yourself and take off that mask your wearing for the world' Shaking her head to rid herself of the voice, she moved back into her room to get dressed for the day.

Making her way into the kitchen, she saw the light streaming through the windows and the bright blue sky. "Wow, what a nice day it is outside." She flung open the window and a light breeze ran through the house. She grabbed a bowl of cereal, since it was one of the few foods Kaoru could make without burning or destroying the kitchen completely. 'Its too nice of a day to waste in the house. And there's no way in hell I'm touching that stupid essay. I know I'll take a run down to the gym and practice for the upcoming tournament.' Grabbing her stuff Kaoru ran out of the house into the sunshine.

"Wohooo!" cried Kaoru as she jumped up over the ledge and was flying through the air. She landed catlike on the ground and continued running. The wind swept by her face and the sun was shining down on her body warming it. For the first time in ages, Kaoru felt like herself and she felt free. She slowed down to a light jog as the school came into view. She went down the giant hill in front of the school and came in front of the gym doors. She pushed open the double doors letting them fly open. The cool air and dim lights rushed over Kaoru and for a moment the world was black. As her eyes made the adjustment to the light she has three figures.

"Kaoru!" waved the shorter one of the group. Kaoru recognized the girl's high voice.

"Hey Misao!" she called back cupping her hands around her mouth in order to make her voice sound louder.

"Hurry up slow-poke and go change!"

"Okay. Okay. I'm going sheesh." Hurriedly Kaoru pulled on her blue and white hamaka. She grabbed her bokken and rushed out of the locker room. "I'm all set!" she yelled to her friends as she ran towards them.

"So I guess we will split up into pairs of to then." Misao was saying to Aoshi.

"Fine." He said glancing at Kaoru and then the other boy whose back was turned to the group, busy tying his shoe.

"Don't tell me you actually wanted to finish that fight, Aoshi. That would have taken all day." Cried Misao in complete irritation.

"Huh…? Guys what's going on here?" she said starring from Aoshi to Misao.

Standing up the boy faced Kaoru, "Don't worry about it Kaoru. Aoshi's just a little sore that we won't be able to finish our fight. That's all."

Kaoru's heart was pounding against her chest and she could feel her face reddening. "Oh…" she managed before looking away. No one seemed to notice her change in behavior as soon as she noticed Soujiro. 'Soujiro? Why is Soujiro here?' her thoughts began to race with the sight of him and she breathed deeply trying to calm down.

"Okay, so I guess I'll pair up with Aoshi and Kaoru you can go with Soujiro." Misao instructed. They went off to different areas of the gym in order to practice. Kaoru glanced sideways at Soujiro watching him walk. Her heart skipped another beat thinking of him. 'Oh Soujiro…' She mentally began to kick herself for not realizing that it was him. 'Stupid Kaoru! How on earth could you think he was Yutarou was Soujiro? Agh stupid Kaoru.'

"Kaoru do you want to do a practice match?" asked Soujiro watching her.

"Sure." She said nervously moving a stray lock of hair from her face.

They faced each other, bowed and they began their fight. They stared unblinkingly waiting for the other to make the first move. They stood there watching each other for several minutes. 'Fine if that's how you're going to be, then I'll go first!' Kaoru rushed forward her bokken poised and ready to strike. Crying out she struck nothing but air. 'Where did he go?' Her head flew around and found Soujio behind her. 'Shit! How did he…?' Her bokken was raised just in time to block the attack. She jumped back to distance herself from him. They circled for a moment before they rushed forward to attack again. There bokkens connected and the force cause Kaoru to lose her balance. Soujiro took advantage of this opening to strike. He hit her across the shoulder. She cried out from the attack and one hand let go of the bokken. 'Damn it! I will not lose to him!'

She gripped by bokken hard and ran towards Soujiro. Using her foot as a pivot she spun around getting behind him and hitting him across the back. Soujiro stumbled forward slightly and upon regaining his balance came steadily after her. Blow for blow Kaoru and Soujiro managed to defend against the attacks. Kaoru's breathing was heavy and labored from the exertion it took to stop Soujiro's attacks. They were tied with two points apiece who ever mange to land the next point would win. 'He's good I'll give him that. A strong offensive and defensive based upon his amazing speed. There has to be a way around it!'

"Clash" Their bokkens collided again. He meant each of her attacks and sometimes was blocking earlier and earlier. 'Crap. He's reading my moves. If I don't do something soon he'll get the point.' She watched his defense for a few more seconds before seeing a possible hole. 'That's it! The moment he switches from defense to offense he wastes a few seconds preparing for his attack. If I can mange to exploit that opening then I'm set. But can I? Yes I can! Here we go!' Soujiro rushed at her and Kaoru ran as fast as they could. Their bokkens connected and for a minute after they both stood there waiting and then Kaoru fell to the ground. 'I lost… Damn, how could I lose?'

"Kaoru! Kaoru, are you all right?" Soujiro asked worried. His face was really close to Kaoru's. Quickly she turned her head away from Soujio. "I'm fine," she muttered. "I'm just worn out." Angry that she had lost to him. She had wanted to win.

"Okay." He stood up brushing himself off and held his hand out to Kaoru. She stared up at his face for a moment longer before he accepted her hand.

"Thank you. I'm going to go get changed and head home. I'm pretty wiped from that fight." She turned around walked into the locker room. She stripped and stepped into the shower allowing the hot water wash over her body. Her muscles were aching. Kaoru had gotten over her embarrassment with Soujiro but her heart still beat faster around him. She got dressed her mind full of thoughts of him. 'Sigh Soujiro… You're too sweet. And you always manage to cheer me up and help me forget my worries.' She exited the locker room smiling to find Soujiro leaning against the wall waiting for her.

"Soujiro?" she asked. His eyes opened and he smiled brightly. Kaoru couldn't help but smile back at him. Soujiro's hair was wet and was tousled around his face and his clothes stuck to his muscular body. 'He looks so handsome.'

"Were you waiting for me?" she accused him lightly poking him in the stomach.

Soujiro turned away a blush spreading across his face. "No I was just standing here…" he lied but both he and Kaoru knew he had really been waiting for her.

"Here come on!" she grabbed his hand and began to drag him out of the gym. "Hey, Misao!" called out Kaoru. "I'm going now and taking Soujiro with me. See you later! You too Aoshi!" she waved goodbye and stepped outside still grasping onto Soujiro's hand.

"Hey, Aoshi?" asked Misao turning to face the tall boy.

"Hmm?"

"You think he'll make her happy?"

"I don't know Misao. I don't know, but I hope he does."

"Me too!" she turned around and smiled brightly and gave him a large hug.

"Kaoru I have to get my bike and we can walk home together." Soujiro pried her fingers loose from his and made his way towards the bike rack. Kaoru smiled watching him go and come up riding back up to her on his ice blue ten-speed. Kaoru and Soujiro made the first part of their trip in silence. 'That's it! It's too quiet for me.'

"I was amazed by how fast you were." said Kaoru remember the speed Soujiro had moved during their battle.

"Really? Well honestly I was pretty shocked by how good you were yourself. You have some pretty good moves there."

"Is that a compliment because if it is isn't much of one." She laughed.

"Oh sorry. Here how about this one. Kaoru you are the most amazing person at kendo next to me! Is that better?" he asked laughing brightly.

"Yes much better! Thank you." after a little while she began to rub the back of her leg. "Man am I sore. That match really did a number on me."

"Here let me give you a lift. That way it will be easier for both of us." Soujiro stopped his bike and motioned for Kaoru to climb on behind him. Once Kaoru was seated on the bike, they were off.

"Oh wow look at the sky." Kaoru stared up at the rose sky tinged with various oranges and reds. "It's so beautiful."

"Yeah it is."

Kaoru leaned her head against Soujiro's back and could hear the beating of his heart. She smiled to herself enjoying the sensation. She heard his heart beat speed up as he realized what he was doing.

"I'm not bothering you am I, Soujiro?" she inquired.

Blushing brightly he managed to get out his reply. "No not at all. Stay there as long as long as you want." They rode in silence for the rest of the trip until they reached Kaoru's house. 

"Kaoru."

"Hmmm?"

"We are at your house."

"Really? That fast already." Removing her head from his back she could see it was true. She and Soujiro got off the bike.

"Thanks for the ride. It was fun." She said as he walked her to the door.

"No problem. I had fun too." he said grinning at her.

"I guess this is goodnight then." Kaoru fidgeted not sure what to do.

"Yeah I guess so."

Soujiro leaned forward and his face drew closer and closer to Kaoru's. Her eyes grew wide in shock but as their lips meant all shock had disappeared. It was a nice kiss, soft and gentle. To Kaoru it seemed like an eternity. As Soujiro withdrew she felt a desire to have him kiss her again. Her heart was pounding and she was breathless.

Soujiro smiled at her, his eyes shinning brightly with warmth. "I love you Kaoru Kamiya. Remember that I'll always love you. Goodnight my princess." He smiled at her one more time, turning to his bike. He rode off into the sunset leaving Kaoru in a complete haze. Her hand moved up fingering her lips. 'Soujiro…' Her thoughts were occupied on what had just happened. 'He loves me…' Her mind was racing and she felt vaguely sick. She knew in the pit of her stomach that she wouldn't sleep well that night.

AN: Wow Soujiro and Kaoru sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g. lol wow how many of you saw that coming? I did! I did! Hopefully you liked the chapter. I felt it was rushed in some parts and undeveloped in others so I'm not sure what to think but I kinda liked the way it turned out in the end. I don't know when I can update next b/c of the internet coming once every two weeks so I'll try to update as much as possible. Thanks!  
-sky

Review Shoutouts:

Ohagi-chan: thanks for yet another review. I know everyone wants to know the pairings. Well I've finally figured them out and man will the ending be good! Thank you for your support

Anonymous but very interested: Kenshin said that because he didn't want to get Kaoru's hopes up and then crush them. He was trying to be considerate. And to see what he says to Tomoe you'll just have to wait and see in the upcoming chapters. I'm still debating on the length so who knows. Thank you for the overwhelming support. It helped me a lot!

PunKrocKergrl: haha yeah you did find me. is it going to be K&K well yes and no. its complicated. You'll have to wait and see. Oh to let you know I've started work on sign on sign off so I just can upload the chapters up if I ever get my own account back…


	5. Chapter 5

Masque 5

AN: OMG! I'M SOOOO SORRY! I have 3 good excuses! 1) I have 400 pages of history notes to take before the 6th. 2) I had writers block…. Hence the reason for the suckiness of this chapter. 3)I've never ever written anything with Tomoe in it… I hope you like this chapter despite the fact its short and horrible. And I have the rest of the chapters written out I just need to type them in. So hopefully there won't be such a long wait the next time.

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Disclaimer: … I have a bad feeling I've been forgetting this… I don't own anything…

Slim fingers traced the buttons on the phone over and over again, contemplating what he was about to do. Moonlight streamed down through the window bathing him in alternating bands of light and shadows. His resolve strength and he took a deep breath before he started dialing. He held his breath waiting for her to answer the phone.

"Hello…" answered a very sleepy voice.

"Tomoe?"

"Kenshin? Kenshin is that you? Do you even know what time it is? People tend to sleep at this hour…" she groaned.

"I know. I'm sorry, I just well… really needed someone to talk to right now. Here I'll go. Go back to sleep."

"It's ok, Kenshin. There's no point I'm up now so we might as well talk." She rearranged her pillows and sank back into them yawning. "So what's up?"

"It's just so messed up… Everything is a wreck…"

There was a long silence and Tomoe thought that Kenshin had hung up the phone, "Kenshin?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

There was another long silence, "Kenshin?"

"It wasn't supposed to be like this… I was supposed to finish out my next two years of high school here. We were supposed to hangout more. I was going to be on the kendo team like I was in before."

"Kenshin, things change."

"I didn't want them to!" he cried out his voice wrought with emotion. "It was supposed to stay the same. It was gonna be you, me, Kaoru, Sano, Aoshi, Soujiro, and Misao. We were supposed to spend the holidays together and go to the movies all the time. Now its gonna be different. You're gonna move onwards without me and I'm going to have to rebuild everything again."

"Kenshin you make it sounds like we will never talk again. That we are happy that you're leaving."

"I'm scared, Tomoe. I'm really scared."

"Of what Kenshin? You're one of the bravest people I know."

"The thought of there being a whole new world waiting for me and the fact that I'm going to leave everyone behind."

"Kenshin, you're worrying too much! Everything will be fine, you'll see."

"Yeah…" he said but his voice didn't sound like he meant it.

"Is there something else bothering you?" she asked gently not wanting to push him at all.

"Yeah there is…"

"Can you tell me?"

He was quiet for a long time. "I'm going have to."

"Kenshin?"

"I want to break up."

"What? why?" she was shocked about this sudden turn of events.

"I'm not sure I feel the same way about you as I originally did."

Tomoe was deathly silent her brain was frozen and she didn't know what to say. "Tomoe? Are you upset? I didn't mean to hurt you. I just thought that this would be for the best so I didn't hurt you in the end. Tomoe?"

'Should I be shocked by this?' she asked herself over and over again. 'No… We both were drifting apart and we both knew it. His move must have been the catalyst for this. Am I angry and hurt, as he seems to think? No… For some odd reason this feels like the right path for us to take. But what to tell him? Its too late to be thinking straight this was a bad idea… What to say? What to do?'

"No." she simply stated.

"Wait. What?" he asked slightly confused.

"No, I'm not angry. I sensed this coming for awhile."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"Oh…"

"It's Kaoru, isn't it?" she asked. She waited patiently for him to answer him.

"Yes." He said in a voice no higher than a whisper.

"Thought so… Well you only have a few days left, use them well Kenshin."

"Thank you, Tomoe."

"Sure. I'm going to go back to sleep."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes, bye Kenshin." She hit the off button on the phone throwing the phone on the ground. Glad she was able to finally go back to sleep.

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AN: So yeah… Here's chapter 5…. Hope you all enjoyed it? I don't really like the way it turned out… But that's ok… The point is if you did. I think I screwed the whole thing up but that's ok too… I think? Yes so please R & R with some constructive criticism because I need to fix this chapter somehow.  
–sky

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Review Shoutouts:  
Anonymous but very interested: thank you for the review! Well to your questions I can answer some and others I'm avoiding for a moment. No will die in this fic, so don't worry about that. The ending I'm planning I don't feel is too tragic. No one is getting married either in this one. I'm glad you liked the one scene where Sou and Kao kiss that was a bit of a hard scene for me to write. Thank you for your overwhelming support. It's a great inspiration.


	6. Chapter 6

**Masque 6**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

**AN:** OMG! Sorry for the late update…. SCHOOL HELL! I'm been so busy… I'm taking 2 more academics then most people do take and that's saying a lot since my classes are mostly honors ones. I'm currently swimming all the time too. Not tooo mention the clubs and activities… I barely get any sleep anymore… People are already placing bets on when I'll burn out… I'll try to update as soon as possible from now on! But I can't gurantree any miracles. Hope you all like this chapter. Its about 10:30 ish and I have a major chem test tomorrow and swimming at 5:00 in the morning and my average in chem is a 72 so basically I'm screwed right now. Here's chapter 6!

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The rest of the weekend went by in a blur. Kaoru hadn't been sleeping well at all. Her usually cheery face seemed much older and more tired. Dark circles stood out on her pale skin. She stared into the mirror trying to look at least a bit presentable. 'I look like a raccoon.' She carefully tried to cover the circles up with some makeup, but to no avail. The makeup made her look even more raccoon like. Sighing she took it off, 'I hope I don't look too horrible.' Sighing again Kaoru gathered up her school stuff and headed out the door.

The journey to school took a lot out of her. Kaoru's body felt like it was made of pure lead and each foot step took an enormous effort for her. As she sat in her first period class, she fought a battle against herself trying to focus and stay awake. 'I must stay awake!' she kept telling herself. Soon the effort was too much for her, and her head slowly drooped on her desk. Lulling her into a deep sleep.

"Ms. Kamiya! Ms. Kamiya!" Kaoru woke up to her teacher gently shaking her.

"Huh…" Kaoru stared around blearily not recognizing her surroundings. Her focus fell on the blurry teacher standing in front of her.

"Kaoru, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes…" her head drooped back onto the desk. The teacher frowned. "Mr. Himura" she called " Could you so kindly escort Ms. Kamiya here to the nurse's office?

"Yes ma'am." Taking her arm he strung it around his own shoulder and with the other hand he gripped her waist and made their way out of the classroom. As they walked he could smell the faint fragrance of jasmine coming off of her. He looked down at he sleeping Kaoru, her face looked tired and worn out. 'I wonder if she is doing all right. She sure doesn't look it.' When he got to the nurse's off he laid her on one of the beds. He went over to the nurse and began to explain what had happened in class. "We were in the middle of class when she started to fall asleep. The teacher woke her up but she didn't seem to even know where she was. So the teacher sent me down to bring her here."

"Ok let's have a look at here." The nurse went over to Kaoru's bed and laid her hand upon Kaoru's forehead. She removed it a moment later and returned with a thermometer. Placing it in her mouth the nurse waited for three minutes and removed it. She threw it into the garbage can, after she had looked at it. "She has a slight fever, it was probably brought on by fatigue and stress. She'll be fine in a couple of days, if she takes it easy and rests. She'll be fine."

"Can I stay with her for a little bit?" he asked looking down at the sleeping Kaoru."Sure if you want to for a few minutes."

Kenshin pulled up a chair next to the bed. He watched Kaoru sleep. Her chest rose and fell lightly with each breath she took. A few pieces of hair fell across her face. Gently Kenshin brushed them aside his hand touching her smooth skin. He smiled down at her for a moment before he leaned down and kissed her lightly, their lips touching for a brief moment. "I'm gonna be back later." He whispered to her, before he left the room and started back towards their classroom.

Eyes flickered opened and then closed again slowly they adjusted to the light to see a group people all standing around the bed her welcome to the world of the living.

"Hey you're finally awake!" cried Misao happily. "I was so worried about you!"

"Hey Misao." Kaoru said weakly smiling at her. "Sorry to make you worry like that."

"You feeling, alright?" asked Tomoe worry etched all over her face.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine don't worry about me Tomoe. I'll be fine. I probably need to rest for a bit longer."

"That you do. The nurse told me that, this was caused by over exerting yourself. You should take it easier, Kaoru or else next time we won't be visiting you in the nurse's off, you'll be in the hospital."

"Kenshin…" she reprimanded from the bed shaking her fist at him, laughing all the while.

"Well Misao and I have to head to class, Kaoru, so we will see you later?" asked Tomoe standing up from her chair next to the bed.

"Yeah, see you later!"

"I'll call with the homework later, so you don't get behind." Called Misao as she was leaving.

"Kenshin are you coming?" asked Tomoe, pausing at the door.

"Nah, I'll catch up with you guys in a minute. I just wanted to finish talking to Kaoru quickly."

"Okay, I'll see you in class then."

"Yeah." He turned back to Kaoru and took Tomoe's vacated seat. "So…" he stated.

"So what?" Kaoru answered back laughing.

"I don't really know. I just couldn't think of anything to say." He laughed smiling at her.

"Well I have a question, how did I get here?"

"I carried you from class to here."

"Really?" Kaoru's eyes were wide in shock.

"Yes really, silly." He grinned at her. "I'm sorry about not sending so much time with you lately, Kaoru. It has just been so stressful and hectic."

"It's okay, I understand completely. Don't worry about it."

"Alright. Kaoru try to get better will you?"

"Of course I will!"

"Good." He smiled brightly at her and squeezed her hand. "I got to head to class I don't want to be late. I'll talk to you later though?"

"Of course you will." Kaoru smiled happily to herself as he waved goodbye and left the room. Considering she was sick and had collapsed in school Kaoru felt it had been one of the best days for her in months. That was her last thought before she fell back to sleep.

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**AN:** I hope you liked the chapter. It was a bit longer than the last. And there was a lot more dialogue so I hope you enjoyed that too!

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**Review Shoutouts:**

Ohagi-chan: thank you for the encouraging review and your faithfulness to the story. It made me very happy when I saw your review.

8282: thank you! I hope this isn't too late for you. I'm glad you have enjoyed the story thus far.

kokoronagomu: Thank you so much for your loving review. It touched me deeply considering I don't consider myself a great writer. Your review really helped with the final push to try to finish this chapter. Thank you for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**Masque 7

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By Sky fairy 77

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing.

AN: Thank you for the support in reading the story. It means a lot. I'm trying to keep up with school and work and things. It's hard to balance it all. So I'm trying my best to keep my stories coming for all of you. Please enjoy this chapter.

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Kaoru after resting for a few more hours in the nurse's office, decided it was time to leave. She has a pass to leave school from the nurse but Kaoru wanted to hang around for a little bit longer. Kaoru had felt overjoyed to see Kenshin concerned for her considering their least conversation. But a part of her couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Soujiro hadn't shown up at all. 'I wonder if he's here today…' She gathered up her books from her locker shoving them into her bag. As she made her way outside she passed the door that led to 'their special place'. 'I wonder…' thought Kaoru taking a step closer to the door. Pushing it open so that she made the least amount of noise possible. As she rounded the corner she found him lying there. Resting gently on his side fast asleep. She set her bad down next to his feet, drawing her own legs up to use as a place to write she quickly scribbled him a note.

Soujiro,

Where were you? You didn't come and visit me in the nurse's office with everyone else. Here's my cell number, give me a call after you're done with school and you are awake. 1-234-5678-9101

-Kaoru

Once she finished writing the note she placed in Soujiro's hand closing it gently so he would note lose the note. "There you go Soujiro." She said looking down at the sleeping boy, "Now have a nice nap." She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before leaving and starting her journey home to her house.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" there was a loud beeping noise coming from Soujiro's bag on the ground beside him. Groaning he stretched his stiff limbs. A piece of white paper tumbled from his hand and floated to the ground. "Huh, how'd that get there?" He reached down picking it up. Slowly he unfolded it and read it carefully. "Kaoru…" he breathed. It was then that he noticed the faint fragrance of jasmine and it suddenly dawned on him that the kiss couldn't have been a dream. He grinned ear to ear and with one hand rubbed his cheek lightly. He left the courtyard and went to his class counting down the minutes until he could call Kaoru.

Once he was totally free from school her dialed her number. He patiently waited as the phone rang then he heard it, the slight click and then her voice "Hello?"

"Hey Kaoru! It's…" but before he could say another word Kaoru cut him off and finished his sentence.

"Soujiro!" she cried happily "Here wait can I call you back in a second? Ok thanks!" there was a click and the line was dead. 'What was that all about?' he thought starring down at his phone.

A minute later his phone began to ring again. He answered it but before he could say hello he could hear Kaoru's voice on the line, "Sorry about that my cell was on the verge of dying plus I couldn't really hear you at all." She laughed. "I'm assuming you got my note then since you called."

"Yeah I did. Hey what was all that stuff about the nurse's office about?" he asked remembering it.

"Oh that… I kinda collapsed during class." She said calmly as if it was an everyday occurrence.

"You what? When? How? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine Soujiro don't worry about me. I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week and I guess I just pushed myself a little too hard, that's all. I'm shocked you didn't notice I was gone in bio."

"Truth be told I had no idea you were feeling unwell. I wasn't in bio today, I was across the school making up a test. Though I did think it strange that you weren't at our usual spot but well I attributed that to your chronic tardiness. So while I was waiting for you I feel asleep. You aren't mad, are you?"

"No," she chuckled " you know I'm the one who's usually asleep not you. Its just kinda funny."

"Yeah I know it is."

There was a long pause where neither of them spoke. Soujiro could feel the tension mounting and was trying to come up with something to say when Kaoru beat him to it.

"I have to tell you something."

"Ok sure." He said but the tone of her voice sounded sad and depressed and he felt worried about what she had to say. It was like all the happiness in the air was being sucked dry.

"You might want to sit down?"

"Sit down? Kaoru what's going on here?" he asked perplex but the dread in his stomach mounting.

"I'm sorry…" she fell silent again. It was clear that this was difficult for her to say. "I can't return your feelings."

"Oh alright… Yeah… well that's okay." He finished lamely all happiness gone from his voice.

"I want you to know the whole story."

"You don't hav…"

"I do have to. It started three years ago when I met Kenshin. He was one of my first friends. Well I eventually began to discover that my feelings ran deeper than just friendship. This year I set him up with Tomoe, you know her right? Well I felt it was the right thing to do, despite my feeling's for him. Then he told me he was moving and everything changed… I remember every single detail about what happened that day. I still can't listen to the song I was listening to on my CD player when he told me it. I was so broken hearted. Since then I've been having pretty vivid nightmares as you have seen, which causes my perpetual lack of sleep. I still love Kenshin and I'm pretty sure I'm falling for you but its not right to tell you yes when I clearly have mixed feelings. I'm so sorry…. You're everything any girl could ever ask for yet here I am saying I can't…" Soujiro swore he heard quiet sobs for a moment before they fell quiet again.

Soujiro didn't know what to say he'd always sensed something within their relationship. But all he could mange to say was "Thanks…" he paused, "Thank you for leaving and being honest with me. I should get going now and head home. Bye." He shut his phone so he wouldn't have to hear another word Kaoru said. He turned it off and shoved it into his pocket. He wasn't in much of a mood to talk to anyone.

Kaoru starred down miserably at the phone clutched in her hands. They were shaking uncontrollably just like her frame was. The phone fell to the floor and the battery went flying . But even that didn't stop the tears from following. Drawing her knees up to her chest she sat on her bad trying to calm herself down. But nothing seemed to be working everything was reminding her of her situation. She drew the pillow close and tried to fall to sleep, tears following at a steady rate down her cheeks.

"Hey Soujiro?"

"What's up Misao?"

"Have you heard from Kaoru lately? I' m really worried about her she hasn't picked up her phone from anyone and she hasn't even answered the door when I've stopped by. You have nay ideas what is up with her?"

"No, sorry" he lied feeling the guilt rise up inside of him. He watched the clock tick counting the minutes down one by one until school was over, waiting for the chance to go check up on Kaoru. Then the bell rang and Soujiro made his way to he same bike rack from the weekend before when he's told her 'this has to mean something.' he thought to himself. Taking his bike off of the rake he pedaled over to Kaoru's house. The flood of memories of their bike ride home together came back to him, the way she leaned on him, what they talked about, and their kiss. 'It wasn't all for nothing. I care too much about her to see her hurting like this. What kind of friend am I to turn my back on her, just for not being able to love me back. I'm so selfish.' He thought over and over again as her pulled up to Kaoru's house.

He got off his bike and went to the front door and knocked loudly, hoping she would come to the door. "Kaoru! Kaoru, I know your home! It's Soujiro. Please open up?" he called. After a few more minutes of knocking he finally gave up. Sighing he walked back down the walkway. He stopped to pick up a small rock. He threw high high up into the air and it went sailing into the glass of the window in Kaoru's room. "Kaoru! I don't care if you don't come to the door. I want to say I'm sorry! I don't want things to be like this! Kaoru I still love you know matter what, even if you can't love me back! Kaoru!

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AN: So yeah, I'm going to end it there. Bit of a cliffhanger for you folks. So this story is coming down to its last chapters. At most there are like 4 left, most likely 3. Unfortunately I have to first write the chapters from scratch so its not as easy as just having time to type them up. So I hope that you like this chapter and I'll try to have the next one up as soon as possible. So for those of you who don't know I used to have an account, but my mother shut it down. I'm on the verge of getting it back. So I was wondering if you could tell me in your review whether I should more these stories over to that account or just leave them here as they are.

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Vote:  
1) Leave them  
2) Move them

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Review Shoutouts:

kokoronagomu: Thank you for wonderful support throughout this story. It means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

_Masque_

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Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

AN: I'm so sorry for the late late late late late update... Let's just same time is not on my side and no i am not going to stop this story! This was probably the hardest chapter to write and involved like 5 different versions and i finally got this one... I'm not exactly pleased with it.. and its pretty short too. But there are like 3 chapters left or 2, one of which is a short epilogue so we are apporching the finish line here. So here's chapter 8.

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Soujiro turned and walked back towards his bike. 'It's no use… She won't seem to listen to anyone.' He sighed deeply kicking the kickstand on his bike up. He looked back at Kaoru's once more and was shocked to see that the door was now open. A grin spread across his face. "You did the right thing, Kaoru." He made his way down the walkway and stepped inside the house. He left his shoes by the door next to Kaoru's. Soujiro glanced around, the house was neat and organized. Light hardwood floors lined the floor and the walls were painted various shades of whites and creams. "Kaoru?" he called stepping further into the house. When he didn't get an answer he made his way upstairs, the staircase spiraled around spitting him out on the landing. At the very end of the hall he saw a door open and on it said 'CAUTION KAORU'S ROOM' in bold black letters. Soujiro chuckled a little seeing it. 'That's just like Kaoru.'

Soujiro's eyes widened when he caught sight of Kaoru. She looked a mess; her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and her hair was sticking in every which way. "Kaoru what the heck has happened to you?" he said in shock.

"Hi Sou…" she gave him a small wave from her place on the bed. She looked absolutely miserable like someone was holding a gun to her head.

"Here come one, move over some." Kaoru moved over on the bed giving Soujiro enough room to sit beside her. "So how you holding up?" he asked her.

"Clearly not well…" Kaoru tried to force a small smile on her face but it only came out strained.

"Aww… Kaoru please try to buck up."

"Sorry Soujiro… I'm just not in any mood to."

"But Kaoru you're just wasting your time if you stay like this. You have one more day until he moves. He's going to be gone for good. He's not going to come back. Don't waste your last chance to seem him."

"I know Soujiro. I know…" Kaoru said tears streaming down her face. "It just hurts so much… It just hurts."

He pulled her into a tight hug, "Shhh… I know it does, Kaoru. I know it hurts. But you can't let those feelings control you, you understand? None of us want to see you like this. I'm pretty positive that Kenshin wouldn't want to see you in this much pain over him."

"He doesn't care at all. It's not like I'm special to him at all. I'm not Tomoe…"

"Kaoru didn't you hear?"

She shook her head, "No I didn't."

Soujiro started to laugh, "Kaoru… haha you're being so silly!" Kaoru just started back at Soujiro with a hurt look on her face. "I don't mean it like that! It's just that Kenshin and Tomoe broke up a while ago. Didn't you know?"

Kaoru's eyes were as wide as saucers, "No! I never heard…"

"Don't you want to know why they broke up?" Kaoru nodded her head. "I think it has to do with a certain little kendo girl I know." If Kaoru's eyes were wide before they were now popping out of her skull from the shock.

"Soujiro… Seriously don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying!"

"Oh my…" she just stared at him in a kind of silent shock.

"Exactly, now Kaoru the real question is what are you going to do with this piece of information? You surely don't intend to continue to sit here and feel sorry for yourself do you?"

"No of course not!" Kaoru wiped the tears away from her face. "Thank you Soujiro. I don't deserve a friend like you."

"Of course you do," he laughed. "I'm going to shove off now because unlike some people I actually do have work to do. Feel better Kaoru."

"I already do."

"I'm glad."

Kaoru watched his retreating back and watched as he slipped out of sight going downstairs. She opened up her window watching him head towards his bike. She waved goodbye to him as he left. 'I really don't deserve such kindness from you…' she thought watching Soujiro disappear into the night.

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AN: Terrible I know... I promise the next chapter is going to be better! Please R&R.

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Review Shoutouts:

kokoronagomu: thank you for your encouraging review! your reviews always give me burst of inspiration to work on this story. Thank you for your continued dedication! I hope if you read this chapter you enjoyed it.


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